Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
With election fever gaining heat in Uttar Pradesh, it is no surprise that the state has been the centre of much misinformation in the past week. While BJP leaders and ministers shared the image of China’s Daxing airport in Beijing, passing it off as the upcoming airport in Noida, others shared the image of Srisailam dam in Andhra Telangana border, claiming it to be the Bhaoni dam. Meanwhile, a viral forward made tall claims on UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s achievement in tackling unemployment. That and much more, here is a list of the top fake news debunked by Newschecker this last week.
Fake News On Rowan Atkinson’s Death Shared Yet Again
Social media posts claiming the death of British actor Rowan Atkinson, famously known as ‘Mr. Bean’ are being widely shared on both Twitter and Facebook. Newschecker contacted the actor’s management team and found the actor is alive but the fake news of his death are both frequent and baseless. Read the full story here
Viral Post Of TN Priest Drinking Beer Is From 2017, Falsely Shared With Religious Colour
A social media post is going viral, claiming to show a TN priest, one ‘Thomas Rajan’- allegedly a Chrisitian appointed under the DMK government’s new rule in the state- drinking beer and allegedly stepping on a ‘Goddess idol’. A fact check by Newschecker has found the claim to be fake news. The video is from 2017, while the image first appeared on social media in early 2020. Read the full story here
Old Video From Mexico Shared As Cattle Washed Away In Flood-Hit Tirupati
A video showing cattle being washed away in muddy water is widely being shared as a video showing the devastating floods in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Newschecker’s investigation found the video to be from July 2020, when storm Hanna caused havoc in Mexico. Read the full fact check on this fake news here
Video Of Christian Flags On Lord Balaji Ratha Not From Religious Procession But From Farmers’ Protest
A nineteen-second-long video showing white flags depicting the cross on it, attached to a chariot complete with all Hindu iconographies carrying Hindu lord Balaji was shared on Twitter claiming to be from ‘Sri Balaji procession’. Newschecker found this to be fake news, and that the video does not show a religious procession, and in fact is from the farmers’ Maha Padayatra in Andhra Pradesh. Read our full fact check here
Image Of Daxing Airport Shared As Model Of Jewar Airport In Noida
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, November 25, laid the foundation stone of Jewar Airport in Noida, pegged to be the largest in Asia and the fourth largest in the world at Noida, Jewar. It will also be the first net zero emission (pollution free) airport in Asia. Following the foundation stone laying ceremony, a number of ministers and BJP leaders took to social media to congratulate the PM and the UP government for the project. Newschecker found that the image showed the Daxing airport in Beijing. Read the full article here
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
